1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing device, and more particularly to a cover device for covering a fastening member, such as a screw for fixedly assembling a case of a portable terminal or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, portable electronic terminals, such as mobile communication terminals, tablet PCs and portable game machines, or household electric appliances, such as TV sets and vacuum cleaners, include case members formed from a synthetic material or a metallic material so as to receive and protect various circuit devices and input/output devices. The case housing the components is completed by assembling and fastening the case members to each other, using fastening members, such as screws. In a case of a terminal box for wiring of a house or a building, or the like, an external case may be fixed to the terminal box, using fastening members, such as screws. However, holes for fastening the screws or the fastened screws are unavoidably exposed to the outside.
For portable terminals, especially for mobile communication terminals, consumers' demands are diversified in terms of design and external appearance. As a result, in order to improve the designs and appearances of portable terminals to be more pleasing and marketable, various efforts are made to reduce inter-part boundaries and to prevent fastening members or the like from being exposed to the exterior.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional cover device for a fixing portion of a case assembly. As shown, the cover device includes a cover member 19 for covering a screw hole 13 and a screw 17 and preventing them from being exposed to the outside of a case member 11. The screw hole 13 extends through the inner and outer surfaces of the case member 11, and the screw 17 is fastened through the screw hole 13 to couple the case member 11 with another case member or to fix a circuit board or the like received in the case member 11 to the case member 11. A seating groove 15 is formed around the screw hole 13 on the outer surface of the case member 11, in which the head of the screw 17 is seated within the seating groove 13 so that the head does not protrude from the outer surface of the case member 11. Also, the cover member 19 is forcedly fitted and then fixedly seated in the seating groove 15 or is seated in the seating groove 15, then fixed therein by using an adhesive member, such as a double sided adhesive tape. As the cover member 19 has been seated in the seating groove 15, the screw 17 is concealed by the cover member 19 and the outer surface of the cover member 19 is kept generally flush with the outer surface of the case member 11.
As a result, the screw hole 13, the seating groove 15, and the fastening member 17 fastened to the screw hole 13, which may be otherwise exposed to the outside of the case member 11 without the cover member 19, are concealed by the cover member 19. In this state, although the cover member 11 may provide a visual sense of difference, the cover member 19 can improve the external appearance of the case member 11, and hence the external appearance of a terminal or the like, to which the case member 11 is applied, can be made to be more appealing.
However, the conventional cover device for a fixing portion as described above has problems in that when the cover member is separated for the purpose of replacing or repairing internal components, the possibility of losing the cover member is high, and also the cover member may be damaged or deformed in the process of separating it.